All Joe Girardi had to do was get off to a good start. Then everyone in Philadelphia would be preoccupied by the NFL draft and Eagles OTAs for a few weeks and pay the Phillies little attention until mid-June.
Oops.
The Phils have lost five of their last six, including three of four this weekend to the Marlins in Miami. They’re 4-6 through 10 games. So WIP is asking questions now.
Should the Phillies fire manager Joe Girardi?
— WIP Morning Show (@WIPMorningShow) April 18, 2022
(It was 57-43 in favor of giving the former Yankees manager the sack when this post was published.)
To be fair, the Girardi job security debate is not solely a creation of the sports talk-industrial complex. He is currently in a contract year and Phillies front office czar Dave Dombrowski did not hire him. It is perfectly rational to think Girardi is most likely to take the fall if the Phillies — a veteran team with a sizable payroll and real expectations after an active offseason — continue to underachieve.
Girardi has plenty of flaws. And it’s fair to wonder if he is the guy who will get the Phillies over the hump long-term. That said, firing him after 10 games feels a tad bit insane.
The guy has been a Major League manager for 13-plus seasons and he’s only had two losing years. And those come with asterisks. He was National League manager of the year in 2006 when he dragged the Marlins to 78 wins and you really can’t count the Phillies’ 28-32 COVID-19 season in 2020. He also turned in the Phillies’ first winning season in a decade last year. He’s difficult, but he also delivers results.
